The adolescent girl from Tennessee is standing on the stage of a drama summer camp in upstate New York. It's a beautiful day. But the girl doesn't feel beautiful. She's not the leggy, glamorous Hollywood type. In fact, she describes herself as dorky. 一名?女由田纳西州来到纽约北部，她站在戏剧夏令营的舞台上，固然气象是那么好，她的心境却一点也不好。由于她不是那种身体颀长、丰腴美艳的好莱坞式美女，实际上她形容本人是“土里土气，还有点傻”。

　　Since she was six years old, Reese Witherspoon has wanted to be a country singer. And Dolly Parton is her idol. But this flat-chested wisp of a girl is no Dolly Parton. Nevertheless, all of this summer she's been acting, dancing and singing---giving it her best. 从六岁开始，里斯•威瑟斯庞就幻想着成为一名农村歌手，多莉•帕顿是她心中的偶像。但她可一点都不像多莉•帕顿，她胸部扁平，身材细微。然而，全部夏天她都在尽全力地表演，舞蹈和唱歌.

　　Play to your strengths. If you're going to make it in this business, it's not going to be on sexy—that's not who you are. Better focus on what you're good at. Celebrate yourself. 施展优点。假如想在这一行发展，不要走自己不擅长的性感路线。更好地专一于自己的专长，为自己欢呼。

　　Despite three years of lessons, at the end of camp her coaches tell her to forget about singing. They suggest she think about another career. If Reese did have talent, it was hiding under her skinny, mousy frame and her Coke-bottle glasses. 她已经上了三年的声乐课程，但夏令营停止时，老师们还是告诉她应当忘掉唱歌这件事儿，另谋前途。如果里斯确切有资质的话，那也是给她纤细的身材和厚如可乐瓶底儿的眼镜遮蔽住了。

　　Still, she takes their words to heart. After all, why shouldn't she believe the professionals? 虽然心有不甘，可她仍是服从了倡议，究竟，她有什么理由疑惑专业人士呢?

　　But back at home in Nashville, her mother — a funny, happy, upbeat person — wouldn't let her mope. Her father, a physician, encouraged her to achieve in school. So she worked hard at everything and was accepted at Stanford University. 但回到位于纳什维尔的家里，她的妈妈——一名幽默、快活、乐观的儿科护士——可不会让里斯觉得涓滴的懊丧。她的爸爸是一名医生，他激励女儿在学业上有所成绩。于是，她凡事努力，终于被斯坦福大学录取。

　　And at age 19, she got a part in a low-budget movie called Freeway. That led to a substantial role in the movie Pleasantville. But her big break came with Legally Blonde. 19岁那年，她出演了一部低本钱片子《极速惊魂》。这为她后来在《欢喜谷》中争夺到真正主要的角色奠定了基本。而她真正的破冰之作是影片《律政俏才子》。

　　Well, she decided, "if you can't sing and you aren't glamorous, play to your strengths. If you're going to make it in this business, it's not going to be on sexy — that's not who you are. Better focus on what you've good at. Celebrate yourself." And then came the offer that took her back to her Nashville roots — playing the wife of tormented country star Johnny Cash. A singing role. 她暗下信心：“既然自己不歌唱天性，又不是光荣照人，那就努力上演。要想在这行做下去，就不要在性感上做文章了——自己不是那品种型的。最好在自己善于的方面下工夫。要展现自己。”这时，她接到片约，邀她出演约翰尼•卡什——一个饱受折磨的城市歌手——的妻子，这是个须要演员有唱功的角色，该片约又把她带回到纳什维尔的故乡。

　　All of a sudden the old fears were back. She was so nervous on the set, a reporter wrote, she "kept a sick bucket" nearby and admitted she "would go backstage after a singing scene and shake." But she didn't give up on the movie or herself. 忽然，旧时所有的胆怯感又回来了，一名记者报道说，她在台上切实是太缓和了，甚至在一边“筹备了呕吐时要用的痰盂”，她自己也否认“每唱完一幕回到后盾，自己都在颤抖”。但她没放弃那部电影，也没放弃自己。

　　The humor and drive she learned at home overcame the self-doubt learned on that summer stage. She spent 6 months taking singing lessons again. She learned to play the Autoharp. And the hard work built up her confidence. 她在家学到的风趣跟能源战胜了在夏季舞台上发生的自我猜忌。她用六个月的时光从新开端学习声乐。她还学会了吹奏竖琴。不懈的尽力让她重拾信念。

　　Last March, Reese Witherspoon walked up on another stage, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, and accepted the Oscar as Best Actress for her heartbreaking, heartwarming singing role as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.2006年3月，里斯•威瑟斯庞走上了另一个舞台——好莱坞的柯达剧院。凭借在影片《勇往直前》里饰演的琼•卡特•卡什这一歌颂角色，她取得了奥斯卡最佳女演员奖，她在片中饰演的角色令人心碎，但也让人心暖。

　　Finally, as you read these accounts of Reese Witherspoon, consider the obstacles she met. The lesson of the story, I suppose, is that instead of making dozen excuses why you can not realize your dreams, think about this story, just hold to your dream and never give up. 最后，当你读瑞茜威•瑟彭斯的故事时，想想她碰到的挫折。我以为，这个故事告知咱们，与其找借口说明梦想为什么不能实现，不如想想这个故事，保持你的妄想，永不废弃。

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